architecture
The NL Pharmacy Museum not only houses a large collection of artefacts which tell the story of early pharmacy, it is also based out of a historical building which features some fascinating architectural details. The exterior of the building is designed in a mixture of art nouveau and art deco styles. The design plans were drawn up by John E. Hoskins, a prominent St. John’s architect in the 1920s, and was constructed by M. & E. Kennedy, Contractors and Builders.
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The interior of the museum features the original hardwood floors and tin pressed ceilings, which are especially precious remnants considering the enormous amount of foot traffic in the last hundred years and the several rounds of construction and renovation the building has undergone.
The interior also boasts authentic 19th century oak pharmacy cabinets which were used in several St. John’s pharmacies in the last 150 years. They were manufactured in England in 1879 and then shipped to Newfoundland, at which point they were installed in the pharmacy of Mr. M. Connors. In the mid-twenties, the cabinets were sold to Donald Hogan for use in his own pharmacy, until finally being installed in the museum.
